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Diachasma alloeum

Diachasma alloeum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Braconidae
Genus: Diachasma
Species:
D. alloeum
Binomial name
Diachasma alloeum
(Muesebeck, 1956)

Diachasma alloeum is a small wasp in the family Braconidae. It is a parasitoid of Rhagoletis pomonella, the apple maggot. The wasp lays its eggs into third-instar larvae of the fly, which then develop after the larvae have pupated. The immature wasps then eat the fly larvae and overwinter inside the fly puparia.

D. alloeum wasps attacking R. pomonella in apples appear to be undergoing a speciation event in concert with their hosts.[1] This is an example of sequential sympatric speciation.

References

  1. ^ Forbes, A. A.; Powell, T. H.Q.; Stelinski, L. L.; Smith, J. J.; Feder, J. L. (2009). "Sequential sympatric speciation across trophic levels". Science. 323 (5915): 776–779. doi:10.1126/science.1166981.